Accidents Happen
by Ixcalia
Summary: Mello takes Matt out drinking to celebrate his twenty first birthday, but accidents happen, no matter how horrible. Slight MelloXMatt. Rating for cursing.


Well, this is a one-shot I decided to write, my inspiration being a horrific accident that happened that left a cousin of mine in the hospital and one in jail. This is hoping for the best for the one in the hospital, this practically retelling what happened to her and the other. Hope you enjoy it a little, as sad as it is.

Accidents Happen:

Mello groaned as him and Matt stumbled from the bar. It was Matt's twenty-first birthday and they had gone out drinking to celebrate. But damn, for his first time drinking, Matt had really gone overboard. He was completely wasted. Mello rubbed Matt's back as he vomited on the sidewalk. He guessed he would be driving them home tonight.

Mello led Matt to his car, shoving him in the passenger seat before he could make a move towards the driver's side. Matt glanced at him, his head lolling slightly.

"I…can drive Mello," Matt muttered, hiccupping between his words. Mello rolled his eyes.

"Matt, you're probably four times over the legal limit. You'd just get us killed, you light weight," Mello said jokingly, climbing into the driver's side. "We should get home now. Besides, L's going to kill us for being out so late while drinking."

Matt sighed and leaned his head back against the seat. He had just enough coherent thought to know that Mello wasn't exactly sober himself, but he probably had more awareness than he did at the moment. Mello was right though. L would probably be pissed at them for being out so late without calling. But they would all laugh it off in the morning.

Mello and him lived with L, along with Near. L had been like a father to them while they were in Wammy's House, and nothing had really changed. L took care of them because Matt and Mello were just incapable of holding a job. Near, of course, was there because he was incapable of taking care of himself overall.

Mello pulled out of the parking lot, glancing at Matt with a slight smile. The younger boy seemed to have had fun for his birthday, even though he had drank too much. Mello probably should have stopped him, but why ruin it for him? He was finally legal and he was having fun. At least he didn't spend his birthday inside, playing video games.

Twenty minutes later, Matt sighed exasperatedly. "We need some music…" he muttered, reaching over and fiddling with the radio. Mello sighed, rolling his eyes. Matt's idea of music sucked. However, Mello took a deep breath and waited for Matt to stop on a station. He would let Matt have his fun tonight.

Suddenly, Matt's hand went limp, his head falling against his chest. Yeah, he was definitely wasted. Mello cursed quietly and reached over, grabbing Matt's hand lightly. He stroked it lightly, trying to invoke some sort of response, but Matt did nothing.

"Hey, Matt? You okay?" Mello glanced at the road for only a second before looking back to Matt. He lightly patted Matt's cheek, but there was still no response. Unknowingly, Mello's foot pressed further down on the gas pedal. "Matt? We're almost home. Can you stay awake a little longer?" He shook Matt's body, but Matt didn't move at all.

Mello sighed worriedly, narrowing his eyes. He knew he shouldn't have let Matt drink that much. He steered to the left, ready to take the back road that would take them to the house, but he turned too soon. His eyes widened and he steered sharp to the right, the car hitting the hill on the side of the road; Mello was still speeding, and the car flipped once; twice; three times.

Mello's eyes were clenched shut, his entire body shaking, and his heart pounding in his chest. The car was upside down, and his head was throbbing. His eyes snapped open and he looked over to the passenger side…but…

"Matt? Matt!?" Mello's eyes were wide. Matt wasn't there. Now that he thought about it, he never saw Matt put his seat belt on…

"Fuck! Matt!" Mello squirmed painfully, trying to pry his own seat belt off. He could see his side of the door crushed inward. He wasn't going to get it open. But Mello was smarter than that. He looked ahead; the windshield was shattered. He could get out that way if he could get the damn belt off. Of course, that also meant that it was possible that Matt had…

"Matt!?" Mello tried to look out the back window, but it was impossible with his current situation. But he knew that voice.

"L? L!? Please tell me Matt's okay! Please…" Tears began to well up in Mello's eyes as he thought of all the possibilities, all of them his fault.

"Mello? Are you okay?" L asked, staring at the wrecked car with wide eyes. He shook his head and looked at Matt's broken body. His cheek was cut up and there was blood soaking through his pants. His upper body seemed well enough though. L grabbed Matt's arms and carefully pulled him off the road, being sure not to move him too much.

"I-I'm fine," Mello called, drying his eyes. He had to keep focused right now. "I think I hit my head, but I'm fine. I can't get out of the damn car though!" Frustration was thick in his voice and L could hear him tug on the seat belt.

"I'll have to ask you to stay put Mello. Near called 911 as soon as we heard the crash, so someone will be here soon. Something more could be wrong with you, and I could make it worse by trying to help you out." L reluctantly left Matt's side and knelt beside the driver's side window. "Mello. You need to tell me what happened."

More tears welled up in Mello's eyes. "I was driving home and Matt passed out all of a sudden. I-I was just trying to get home so I could make sure he was okay…I t-took the turn too soon and I tried to f-fix it…"

"Accidents happen Mello, but…you were drinking weren't you?" L sighed and shook his head disapprovingly. "You could have called me. I would have had Watari pick the two of you up."

"L, they said they're sending someone out now," Near looked around at the scene awkwardly. He shivered, looking at the blood-smeared road, to Matt's body, then to the car. Now, Near and Mello were never what one would consider close, but living together as they had for most of their lives practically made them family. It was the same with Matt. They were just a big, messed up, family. "Are they…?"

"Mello's fine Near. Matt needs to get to a hospital soon though. It's hard to tell, but since he was ejected from the car as he was, the car may have flipped onto him." Near nodded and slowly made his way over to Matt. He knew that Mello would be in danger until he was removed from the car. It was natural that L want to stay with him until then, so he would stay close to Matt.

"I-Is Matt really that bad…?" Mello asked, leaning his throbbing his head against the back of the seat. L glanced at Matt's body and sighed.

"Mello, it's hard to say whether…whether Matt's even going to make it. He's in bad condition Mello." L carefully reached through the window and grabbed Mello's hand reassuringly.

"Don't tell me that! Fuck! I can't believe I did this!" Once again, Mello began to struggle in his seat, tugging at his belt roughly. "I want out of this damn car!"

"Not yet Mello," L murmured, squeezing Mello's hand lightly. "I can see that you're sobering up. You're already getting your attitude back." L looked down the road, the sound of sirens getting closer. "It seems you'll be out soon."

* * *

Mello laid his head in his hands, sighing miserably in the small cell he had been put into. He had been arrested for drinking and driving and for failure to control. Well, fuck the police. He knew exactly what was happening in the car and he had perfect control over it until he saw that he had turned too early. It could have happened to anyone, drunk or not.

What was worse, since he had been arrested, he hadn't heard anything of Matt's condition. L hadn't come to bail him out, which Mello supposed he understood. He probably wanted to stay near Matt at the hospital, and he told Mello that he wanted him to think about what had happened. He felt like a little kid again, being scolded for kicking Near's tower of dice over.

Mello slowly reached his hand up and wrapped it around the rosary that was hanging around his neck. He supposed that he could only hope and pray for Matt's recovery. He had seen Matt for a brief period of time, before being arrested, and he looked horrible. As Mello had been taken away in the cop car, he could see the helicopter lift Matt's body away to the closest hospital that would be capable of treating him properly. It had to be bad.

"Mello, you've made bail." Mello looked up in surprise as the bulky officer unlocked his cell. Behind him, Near stood, twisting a piece of his hair around his finger nervously. It wasn't who Mello expected to see bailing him out. "Try not to get yourself into trouble again." Mello glared at the officer and walked out of the cell.

"I suppose Mello would like to see Matt now?" Near asked, looking away from Mello's questioning gaze. They weren't supposed to like one another. "Mello will have to drive us there, if he doesn't drive as he was last night."

"Yeah," Mello mumbled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. "Uh, thanks for—"

"Mello does not need to thank me for bailing him out. I don't think its right to keep Mello and Matt separated in Matt's current condition." Near turned away and began to walk out of the station, Mello following behind. At least he didn't have to finish thanking him.

"How is Matt?" Mello asked reluctantly. He almost didn't want to know how Matt was doing, knowing that all his injuries were his fault.

"Well, Matt has a broken pelvis and there's internal bleeding that the doctors can't seem to find. They are planning on doing surgery on his stomach though, but it's too swollen to do anything right now." He glanced at Mello, searching for the emotion in his eyes. The only thing he could see in Mello's blue eyes were tears.

"T-That bad huh?" Mello asked, taking a deep breath. He wouldn't help Matt by crying for him. They walked out of the police department and into the gloomy outside. They sky was dark, no sun managing to break through the thick flow of clouds.

"Mello," Near began, turning his gaze away. "They aren't sure if Matt's going to make it. For whatever reason, the nurses are saying that they can't find a proper surgeon for Matt's surgery. They said there should be one free by tomorrow, but we have to hope that Matt can make it until then."

"What!? Why life-flight him to a hospital that doesn't have a surgeon available!?" Mello gritted his teeth, growling angrily. "Can't they just life-flight him to a hospital that has surgeons available? How hard could that be?"

"L brought that up to the nurses, but they keep insisting that moving him too much will only cause more problems. So, they've been keeping him heavily medicated and keeping close tabs on him." Mello placed a hand on his head.

"Are they letting people in to see him?" he asked quietly, all energy seemingly draining away from him. Near nodded his response and climbed into the passenger side of the car. "Wait. How did this car get here?" Mello asked.

"I drove it here," Near murmured, pulling his knee to his chest and twirling a piece of hair around his finger. Mello stared at him blankly. "What?"

"You drove?" Mello asked, climbing in the driver's side.

"Yes, but don't make me have to do it again. It was a rather…stressful drive, considering it was my first time."

"Right. Just lead me to the hospital," Mello demanded, starting the car.

* * *

L gently grabbed Matt's hand and softly called out to him. Matt slowly opened his eyes and nodded his head in acknowledgment.

"How you doing Matt?" L asked, sitting beside his bed. Matt was incoherent, but he could understand his name being called. Unfortunately, a breathing tube hindered any chance of verbal communication, and due to his broken pelvis, the nurses would not allow anyone to sit Matt's bed up.

Matt lightly squeezed L's hand, reaching his other up and weakly pointing. L looked over to a pen and a clipboard of paper that had been set-aside for him. He picked up both and carefully placed the pen in Matt's hand, holding the clipboard steady for him to write on. His hand was shaking uncontrollably and his writing was nearly unreadable.

M…E…L…L…O

"Oh, you want Mello?" L asked. Matt slowly nodded his head weakly. "Well, I'm not sure if he's here yet, but…"

"Um, L? Near just called and asked if his friend could come back to see Matt. As you know, I can only allow one person back here at a time." L nodded to the nurse.

"Of course." L looked back to Matt, gently rubbing his shoulder. "Matt, I'm going to go so that they can let Mello in. I'll see you later." L walked out of the room and hit the button that opened the doors to let visitors in. Mello immediately walked in, his eyes looking to the floor. "Mello, I'm glad Near bailed you out. Matt just asked for you."

Mello looked up in surprise, his eyes wide. "He…asked for me? How could he ask for the very person who put him here? Fuck, L, I don't know if I can stand to see him." L smiled slightly as Mello ran his hand through his hair; a nervous habit.

"You haven't been acting like yourself. I understand that you're upset for what you did, and you're very close to Matt, but you need to be yourself right now. Matt needs to see that _you're_ there." L walked pass Mello, patting his shoulder reassuringly, before walking out to the waiting room with Near.

Mello took a deep breath, and walked into the small room that Matt was being kept in. It was a dark and depressing place, only big enough to fit three people in it comfortably. There were no windows and the lights were all off, except for the monitors that were glowing eerily.

Matt's eyes darted around the room before landing on Mello. He looked…scared? Well, of course he was scared, Mello thought to himself. He was in the hospital with a breathing tube shoved down his throat, hooked up to a bunch of monitors that beeped in sync with his heartbeat.

Hand shaking, Matt reached up and grabbed the pen that L had left with him, his eyes clenching shut painfully. He reached over with his other hand and grabbed the clipboard, but Mello had to hold it steady for him. Mello watched as Matt wrote out the question impatiently.

What happened?

Mello stared at the question, trying to think of an answer to give him. The truth would be the best answer, of course, but would Matt hate him? No. Matt could never hate him. Taking a deep breath, Mello looked at Matt with narrowed eyes.

"I'm sorry Matt. When you passed out, I was trying to see if you were okay. I-I just wasn't paying enough attention to the road and I ended up flipping the car. You went out the window, and landed in the road. L and Near found us." Mello sighed heavily and sat down in the chair next to Matt's bed. It was hard to tell Matt all this.

Matt was already writing again, his eyes watering. Mello leaned closer to him and watched as he wrote yet another question.

Hurt?

"Are you hurting?" Mello asked, trying to decide what Matt was trying to ask. Matt looked unsure but shook his head. Of course he was hurting, but that's not what he was asking. He slowly pointed at Mello, making a noise behind the tube. "Am I hurt?" Matt nodded. "I'm fine Matt. I hit my head, but I'm fine now. I'm more worried about you. I just want you to get better."

Tears began to slide down Matt's face; he reached out and grabbed Mello's hand tightly. He did manage to write down one last thing though. It made Mello's heart skip a beat and his eyes began to sting.

I'm sorry.

"Don't you fucking say that! None of this was your fault Matt! Fuck, Matt, I'm so sorry." Tears began to slide down Mello's face as he held Matt's hand tightly. He held Matt's hand all day, until the medicine put Matt back to sleep and the nurse forced him out for the night.

Well, I was going to make this a one-shot, but two chapters shouldn't be too bad, if anyone likes it enough to review.


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